"I never left..."

"I didn't go away.  I never left my village."
From:  Alexei and the Spring

Tonight I saw a documentary about a tiny village in Russia. So very quiet and simple their life. Early mornings heavy with mist in the low areas, waking up with the dawn, taking care of the animals...

It took me back to my childhood in rural Minnesota and a small village I grew up in. I could feel the dew on my skin, smell the grass and manure, feel the soft velvet of my horse's muzzle nudging my hand as I poured the oats...running back in the cold to the house to grab my books and run to meet the bus way down the road...like it was just yesterday.